Page 74 of The Vampire Oath

“She doesn’t frighten me.” I snort derisively. “She has already tried.”

“She will rip your heart from your chest,” he adds in all seriousness as if I don’t grasp the immensity of the situation.

But I do.

“I don’t care. I would do it again a thousand times over if it means that you will be free. The oracle said you can never be compelled again but you’re not protected from other magic.”

Alaric tightens his arms around me and rests his head in the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. We stay wrapped up in each other for a long moment. I revel in feeling him, alive and in my arms for the first time in too long.

“I have missed you, my dear Clara,” he whispers, sending goosebumps racing along my skin. When he finally pulls back, his eyes are filled with renewed pain. “I will still be oath bound to her in five weeks. And only death can break that bond…” He reaches up and runs his hands through my wild hair, smoothing it back. I can see him warring with his next words.

“I won’t let that happen,” I say before he can speak.

He shakes his head. “I will not have a choice. Her power far outweighs my own… She sired me.”

Shrugging out of his embrace, I step back. “You do have a choice.” He starts to protest, but I continue, “Oath bind yourself to me.”

Alaric shakes his head. “I cannot ask you to tie yourself to me for eternity.”

“Why?”

“Because you deserve better,” he says.

The anguish in his voice lights a fury deep inside me.I will not let this go.

I thrust my hands on my hips and shake my head. There is nothing better than him,no onebetter than him. “Then it’s a good thing I’m the one who decides what I deserve, and what I want.”

“You would be forced to live as long as I do, and you will never have the life you wanted, and that is only if Elizabeth doesn’t find a way to punish you for it.” Alaric offers nothing but excuses.

I press my fingers to his mouth to silence him. “I will not let her trap you again,” I vow then swallow the lump forming in my throat. “Unless you do not want to be bound to me?”

His features soften, then he presses his cheek to mine. “In all the years I have beenthis, I never thought I would want to be bound to anyone, until you, my dear Clara,” he whispers. shifting, he brushes his lips over mine and mouths,I love you.“I do not want you to wake up one day, regretting it.”

I clutch at his shirt and press a kiss along his jaw. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?”

Alaric pulls back to examine me, passing over my sliced arm, looking for other injuries.

Reaching up, I tug the collar of my shirt down to expose the new pink scar on my chest. His eyes darken.

“I would risk everything to save you, and I will never regret anything when it comes to you, Alaric Devereaux.”

“What have you done?” His fingers trace the fading pink line.

In another few days, the scar will be gone. I smooth the material back in place.

“How did you survive?” he asks.

I don’t want to think about how right now. I need him to understand. “That doesn’t matter right now.”

A shiver rakes its way down my bones. I’m asking him to oath bind himself to me. I never expected to want something so permanent or meaningful. It should have crossed my mind before now that we would need to make this decision. But I’m not afraid of the challenges it will bring. Forever with Alaric doesn’t terrify me.

It feels right.

This vampire, who I once hated for what he was, has opened my eyes. He showed me what it meant to be a friend when I was alone, when it would have been easier to let me die on the grounds outside his manor. This vampire who was injured saving my life and is willing to sacrifice his freedom to protect me. His very existence demands my loyalty and love.

He fought for me when no one else would… and stole my heart when I wasn’t looking.

“I love you, Alaric,” I whisper. “I have for a while now, it just took me a long time to realize it.”

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